Improved trunk-stays



ATnNT rtree,

JOHN M. DAILEY, OF NEIV YORK, Y.

IMPROVED TRUNK-STAYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 7,092. dated April 4,i865.

To n/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN. M. BAILEY, in the city, county, and State ofNewYork, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Stays for Trunks,&c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andeXact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the artto make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specific rtion.

In the manufacture of trunks to be used for traveling purposes straps ofleather, cloth, or other suitable iiexible materia-ls have heretoforebeen used for holding and preventing their tops when opened from fallingbackward, which would in time wrench their hinges oft', these strapsbeing simply fastened at each end respectively to the top and bodyportions of the trunk. To the use of these stay-straps, however, thereare many serious objections, of which may be mentioned that in the inseetion and removal of clothes from the trunk it is necessary to be quitecareful, for if either one of the straps are accidentally struck by theclothes it oftentimes causes the -top to be suddenly closed 5 that thestraps continually break from wear and frequently become unfastened, andalso are Vapt to be caught between the top and body of the trunks,unless particular care is taken to bend them in before it is entirelyclosed, &c.

By the present invention I have entirely obviated the many disadvantagesresulting from the use of flexible stay-straps, the same consisting inthe use of stays made of metal, wood, or other inflexible material, inand through each of which grooves of the proper direction and curve areformed extending` nearly their entire length, which grooves, when thetrunk is opened or closed, travel upon and are guided bystationaryguide-pins fastened in the proper positions in the cover and body of thetrunk. The grooves are of course made of sufficient length that thecover of the trunk can be swung back far enough to prevent its fallingforward by its own weight, and also are of the proper curve to freelypass over the guide-pins as the trunk is opened or closed. In practice,however, I find it advantageous and much more simple, in lieu of makingthese stays and attaching them to the trunk as distinct and separatefrom any of the other parts composing the same, to combine them with theordinary hinges, or, rather, form the two together as one device, andtherefore in the following description, as well asin the accompanyingdrawings, they are represented and shown as if of one an d the samepiece, although it is evident that it is not necessary to theirsuccessful operation to so combine them.

' My improvements are represented in the accompanying drawings, of whichFigure lis a view of inside face of hinge, &c.; Fig. 2, a view ofoutside face, and Fig. 3 a plan or top view with hinge partially turned.

a a represent an ordinary hinge made in the usual manner, of two partsor pieces, b and c, and with suitable apertures for fastening the sameto the trunk. To each of the parts b and c, on the two contiguous edgesthereof, are fastened in any proper manner, by one of its straightsides, a quadrantal sector-shaped plate, d d or these plates may be castwith their respective hinge partin one. and the same piece, if desired.In the face ff of each ofthe sector-plates d d is a narrow groove orway, g g, having the direction of a curve, the center of which is at theturningpoint of the hinge, the grooves in the two vsector-plates, whenbrought together, forming one continuous groove, as seen in Fig. l.

In the groove g of each plate, extending across the junction of thesame, and having` the saine curved shape, is placed a connecting bar orplate, h, havinga narrow slot or groove, Z, extending nearly its entirelength. This plate h is free to slide in the grooves g g, and suitablecross-pieces can be fastened upon the sector-plates d d over the groovesg, to prevent the plate h from being sprung out of its groove or way asthe hinge is turned. m m are two stationary pins passing throughapertures in sector-plates and bearing in the slot l of bar h, W hichare so arranged as to stop the sliding bar hat the proper time as eachend of its slot comes to a bearing on the same.

The hinge, with its sector-shaped plates, connected together by asliding tie-piece arranged as described, can be applied to a trunk inthe ordinary manner, one part of the hinge being fastened to thetop orcover and the other to the body, or, which I deem the best manner,fastened upon the outside of the trunk, the hinge parts to the back sideand the sector-shaped plates to the ends, in which case the parts of thehinge and sector-plates actas clamps and as strengthening-pieces for thecorners.

The hinge, constructed as described and applied to a trunk, in raisingthe cover of the trunk the iXed pin in its sector-piece, bearing againstone end of the slot of the connectingbar h, pulls on the saine andcauses it to move in its groove until the lower end of said slot comesto a bearing on the fixed pin in the other sector-plate, the two pinsbeing so arranged with regard to each other as to allow the coversufficient play as that in avvertical plane when the connecting-bar hascome to both of its bearings, as described, it shall be in such positionthat it can neither fall forward and close nor fall backward, the saideonnectin g arm or bar acting then as a stay, as is evident withoutfurther description..

In lieu of arranging the connecting-bar h within and forming a part ot'a trunk-hinge, itcan be made separ.1te therefrom and applied eitheroutside or inside ot' the trunk, as may' be desired.

Although I have herein particularly described my improvements asapplicable to trunks alone, it is apparent that there are many other andvarious purposes to which they can be readily adapted, and therefore Ido not intend to limit myself to any particular application of thesaine.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The use of one or more curved bars or plates movingupon suitable guiding-pins in the cover and body of a trunk or othercase, arranged and operating substantially as herein described, and forthe purpose specied.

2. The combination,with an ordinary hinge, of the curved bar h, arrangedtogether and operating substantially as and for the purpose speciiied.

JOHN M. BAILEY.

Vit-nesses:

M. M. LiviNGs'roN, C. L. TorLIFF.

